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NYK Line will donate $1.5 million over five years in support of the Pasig River and Tullahan-Tinajeros River system cleanup
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The donation will be used to purchase additional dredging equipment
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The cleanup effort is spearheaded by San Miguel Corp
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The initiative is meant to mitigate flood damage and prevent the discharge of waste into the ocean
NYK Line will donate a total of $1.5 million over five years in support of the Pasig River and Tullahan-Tinajeros River system cleanup efforts being implemented by San Miguel Corporation, the Japanese carrier said in a statement.
The donation will be used to purchase additional dredging equipment.
San Miguel is dredging and cleaning the Pasig River, along with the Tulahan-Tinajeros River system, to mitigate flood damage and prevent the discharge of waste into the ocean.
The online signing ceremony was held on November 19 and attended by Ramon Ang, San Miguel president; Roy Cimatu, Department of Environment and Natural Resources secretary; and representatives from NYK-FIL Ship Management, Inc. and MarCoPay Inc.
Ang expressed gratitude for the donation, saying, “This kind gesture from NYK, led by its president, Mr. Hitoshi Nagasawa, shows that they care not just for the environment, but also their Filipino workforce. It is also further recognition of the importance of the task that we at San Miguel have set for ourselves–that of continuing efforts to reverse decades of pollution of our rivers. This way, we can safeguard lives and livelihoods from flooding, make our cities more livable, and protect our oceans and marine resources.”
NYK president Hitoshi Nagasawa for his part said, “As a global shipping and logistics company, protecting the marine environment is part of our DNA and something that we treat very seriously. ESG is the foundation for the NYK Group’s aspiration to become a sustainable business entity, and we think that the project we are about to join is exactly in line with our future goals.”.
According to a study by Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit organization based in the Netherlands, more than 360,000 tons of plastic waste is dumped into Philippine rivers every year, creating a major environmental problem.
Of these, the Pasig River, which crosses the metropolitan Manila area and flows into Manila Bay, is the most seriously polluted. Purification of this river is expected to improve environmental problems and reduce microplastic.
On February 3, NYK released the NYK Group ESG Story, which aims to further integrate ESG into the company’s management strategy and promotes efforts that contribute to the achievement of the SDGs through business activities.
NYK said it has positioned microplastic pollution as a social issue that it should tackle as a way of “giving back to the oceans.” Part of this initiative is the $150-million donation for the Pasig River cleanup, the carrier added.
